Phys.org news tagged with:scientific instrumenthttps://phys.org/
en-usPhys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine.Q&A about the toughness of NASA's webb telescopeJust how resilient does a space telescope have to be to survive both Earth's environment and the frigid, airless environment of space? Paul Geithner, the deputy project manager – technical for James Webb Space Telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, answered some questions about the design challenges of building the telescope and the gauntlet of tests it has endured in the years leading up to launch. James Webb Space Telescope, or Webb, is NASA's upcoming infrared space observatory, which will launch in 2019.https://phys.org/news/2017-12-qa-toughness-nasa-webb-telescope.html
Space Exploration Wed, 06 Dec 2017 08:06:40 ESTnews431769987Now you can levitate liquids and insects at homeLevitation techniques are no longer confined to the laboratory thanks to University of Bristol engineers who have developed an easier way for suspending matter in mid-air by developing a 3D-printed acoustic levitator.https://phys.org/news/2017-08-levitate-liquids-insects-home.html
General Physics Tue, 15 Aug 2017 11:26:58 ESTnews422015204New method to differentiate molecules could yield faster and cheaper medicinesIn a scientific first, a team of researchers from Macquarie University and the University of Vienna have developed a new technique to measure molecular properties – forming the basis for improvements in scientific instruments like telescopes, and with the potential to speed up the development of pharmaceuticals.https://phys.org/news/2016-10-method-differentiate-molecules-yield-faster.html
Optics & Photonics Thu, 06 Oct 2016 07:51:19 ESTnews394959068Why X-ray astronomers are anxious for good news from troubled Hitomi satelliteOn February 16, the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) successfully launched the ASTRO-H satellite from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. The space telescope named Hitomi – "pupil" in Japanese – carried with it the hopes and dreams of astrophysicists from around the world.https://phys.org/news/2016-04-x-ray-astronomers-anxious-good-news.html
Astronomy Tue, 05 Apr 2016 09:18:59 ESTnews379066729New tool for studying magnetic, self-propelled bacteria that resemble compass needlesIn the Marvel Comics universe, Professor Xavier and the X-Men are only able to fend off their archrival Magneto, the magnetic mutant with the ability to control metals, once they truly understand the scope of the villain's powers. To better understand the behavior of the microbial world's Magnetos—the magnetically influenced water-dwellers known as magnetotactic bacteria—three researchers from Europe and Russia have developed a new tool that allows these unique microscopic species to be studied more easily, especially in their natural environment.https://phys.org/news/2015-09-tool-magnetic-self-propelled-bacteria-resemble.html
General Physics Tue, 15 Sep 2015 12:31:23 ESTnews361539074We will find organic materials on Asteroid Bennu, says OSIRIS-REx principal investigator(Phys.org)—In September 2016, NASA plans to launch its first-ever asteroid sample return mission loaded with tasks that will help us better understand the composition of asteroids, their origin, and possibly even Earth's origin. The Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission designed to study asteroids, which are the leftover debris from the solar system formation process, could teach us a lot about the history of the sun and planets.https://phys.org/news/2015-07-materials-asteroid-bennu-osiris-rex-principal.html
Space Exploration Mon, 27 Jul 2015 08:55:26 ESTnews357206114Researcher discusses instrument designed for Europa missionOn May 26, 2015, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that nine scientific instruments had been selected for a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa that will launch in the 2020s.https://phys.org/news/2015-06-discusses-instrument-europa-mission.html
Space Exploration Thu, 11 Jun 2015 07:20:03 ESTnews353224981What it took to get the Hubble Space Telescope off the groundIconic images of astronomical pillars of gas and dust, views of galaxies soon after they were formed, an accelerating universe driven by Dark Energy… "give us more!" say the public and the taxpayers. The Hubble Space Telescope is undoubtedly one of the most popular science projects today. It was not always thus.https://phys.org/news/2015-04-hubble-space-telescope-ground.html
Space Exploration Wed, 22 Apr 2015 09:40:02 ESTnews348912275India's frugal Mars mission extended by six monthsIndia's famously frugal Mars mission has been extended by around six months thanks to a surplus of fuel on board the spacecraft, the country's space agency said Tuesday.https://phys.org/news/2015-03-india-frugal-mars-mission-months.html
Space Exploration Tue, 24 Mar 2015 08:26:07 ESTnews346404359SPIDER experiment touches down in AntarcticaAfter spending 16 days suspended from a giant helium balloon floating 115,000 feet above Antarctica, a scientific instrument dubbed SPIDER has landed in a remote region of the frozen continent. Conceived of and built by an international team of scientists, the instrument launched from McMurdo Station on New Year's Day. Caltech and JPL designed, fabricated, and tested the six refracting telescopes the instrument uses to map the thermal afterglow of the Big Bang, the cosmic microwave background (CMB). SPIDER's goal: to search the CMB for the signal of inflation, an explosive event that blew our observable universe up from a volume smaller than a single atom in the first fraction of an instant after its birth.https://phys.org/news/2015-01-spider-antarctica.html
Space Exploration Thu, 22 Jan 2015 09:30:03 ESTnews341139098Image: First Mars orbital photo of 2015This image was taken on 2 January just after midday GMT, and is one of the first of the Red Planet this year from the low-resolution Visual Monitoring Camera – the 'Mars Webcam' – on ESA's Mars Express orbiter.https://phys.org/news/2015-01-image-mars-orbital-photo.html
Space Exploration Wed, 07 Jan 2015 06:30:01 ESTnews339832906Small glitches, but Rosetta comet mission is achieving major scientific goalsThe landing of Rosetta's Philae on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko was a triumph of engineering. Many spectacular scientific firsts will follow now, but small glitches during the landing make it more difficult to obtain all of the scientific goals.https://phys.org/news/2014-11-small-glitches-rosetta-comet-mission.html
Space Exploration Fri, 14 Nov 2014 07:10:02 ESTnews335170673Comet lander ends up in cliff shadow (Update)A shadow was cast—literally—across Europe's historic mission to land on and explore a comet. Scientists said Thursday the landing craft not only bounced twice, it also came to rest next to a cliff that's blocking sunlight from its solar panels.https://phys.org/news/2014-11-comet-lander-cliff-shadow.html
Space Exploration Thu, 13 Nov 2014 09:55:38 ESTnews335094931Scientists hope for data after historic but dodgy comet landingEuropean scientists were hoping for a stream of data Thursday after a robot lab made the first-ever landing on a comet, a key step in a marathon mission to probe the mysteries of space.https://phys.org/news/2014-11-scientists-historic-dodgy-comet.html
Space Exploration Thu, 13 Nov 2014 05:13:55 ESTnews335078025European probe lands on comet, fails to anchor (Update)Europe made history Wednesday by placing the first-ever lander on a comet—but the robot failed to anchor itself properly, raising concerns at ground control.https://phys.org/news/2014-11-comet-lander-anchored-home-esa.html
Space Exploration Wed, 12 Nov 2014 15:29:04 ESTnews335028533Scientific instruments of Rosetta's Philae landerWhen traveling to far off lands, one packs carefully. What you carry must be comprehensive but not so much that it is a burden. And once you arrive, you must be prepared to do something extraordinary to make the long journey worthwhile.https://phys.org/news/2014-09-scientific-instruments-rosetta-philae-lander.html
Space Exploration Tue, 23 Sep 2014 09:50:01 ESTnews330680490Robotic rock climbers could uncover clues to Mars' pastA robot that can scale the faces of steep cliffs might one day help explore Mars and find signs of life. The latest experiments with this "Cliffbot" showed it could help examine places otherwise difficult or impossible for astronauts to safely reach, although further improvements are needed for it to overcome obstacles, according to findings detailed in the journal Astrobiology.https://phys.org/news/2014-08-robotic-climbers-uncover-clues-mars.html
Space Exploration Mon, 04 Aug 2014 07:25:04 ESTnews326355889Athena to study the hot and energetic universeESA has selected the Athena advanced telescope for high-energy astrophysics as its second 'Large-class' science mission.https://phys.org/news/2014-06-athena-hot-energetic-universe.html
Astronomy Mon, 30 Jun 2014 12:00:01 ESTnews323347407India's mission to Mars crosses half-way markIndia's first mission to Mars successfully crossed the half-way mark on Wednesday, four months after leaving on an voyage to the Red Planet scheduled to take 11 months, the space agency said.https://phys.org/news/2014-04-india-mission-mars-half-way.html
Space Exploration Wed, 09 Apr 2014 09:28:27 ESTnews316254499High-pressure cryocooler prepares proteins for X-ray crystallographyA technology developed by Cornell scientists that prepares proteins for X-ray crystallography has made its way into the world marketplace: ADC Inc., a maker of scientific instruments located just outside Ithaca, has licensed the high-pressure cryocooler, called HPC-201, and has just fulfilled its first order to a research center in Japan.https://phys.org/news/2014-04-high-pressure-cryocooler-proteins-x-ray-crystallography.html
General Physics Wed, 02 Apr 2014 07:00:01 ESTnews315639266Paper-based device could bring medical testing to remote localesIn remote regions of the world where electricity is hard to come by and scientific instruments are even scarcer, conducting medical tests at a doctor's office or medical lab is rarely an option. Scientists are now reporting progress toward an inexpensive point-of-care, paper-based device to fill that void with no electronics required. Their study on the extremely sensitive test, which simply relies on the user keeping track of time, appears in the ACS journal Analytical Chemistry.https://phys.org/news/2013-10-paper-based-device-medical-remote-locales.html
Analytical Chemistry Wed, 23 Oct 2013 12:59:03 ESTnews301751920Month-long study by UH targets improved air quality forecastingUniversity of Houston (UH) professors and students are taking part in an air quality study that will help scientists understand how to better interpret and forecast air quality using satellite data and numerical models.https://phys.org/news/2013-09-month-long-uh-air-quality.html
Environment Thu, 26 Sep 2013 14:44:32 ESTnews299425460Mars rover Curiosity finds water in first sample of planet surfaceThe first scoop of soil analyzed by the analytical suite in the belly of NASA's Curiosity rover reveals that fine materials on the surface of the planet contain several percent water by weight. The results were published today in Science as one article in a five-paper special section on the Curiosity mission. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Dean of Science Laurie Leshin is the study's lead author.https://phys.org/news/2013-09-mars-rover-curiosity-sample-planet.html
Space Exploration Thu, 26 Sep 2013 14:00:09 ESTnews299413480To touch the microcosmosWhat if you could reach through a microscope to touch and feel the microscopic structures under the lens? In a breakthrough that may usher in a new era in the exploration of the worlds that are a million times smaller than human beings, researchers at Université Pierre et Marie Curie in France have unveiled a new technique that allows microscope users to manipulate samples using a technology known as "haptic optical tweezers."https://phys.org/news/2013-09-microcosmos.html
General Physics Fri, 13 Sep 2013 14:10:01 ESTnews298299610The science of stadium soundFootball fans attending BYU home games the last two seasons may have noticed a few students roving through the crowd, giving their full attention to hand-held scientific instruments instead of the game.https://phys.org/news/2013-09-science-stadium.html
General Physics Wed, 04 Sep 2013 06:33:38 ESTnews297495200Voyager 1 has left the solar system, says new study(Phys.org) —Voyager 1 appears to have at long last left our solar system and entered interstellar space, says a University of Maryland-led team of researchers.https://phys.org/news/2013-08-voyager-left-solar.html
Space Exploration Thu, 15 Aug 2013 13:39:23 ESTnews295792747New insights into the one-in-a-million lightning called 'ball lightning'One of the rare scientific reports on the rarest form of lightning—ball lightning—describes better ways of producing this mysterious phenomenon under the modern laboratory conditions needed to explain it. The new study on a phenomenon that puzzled and perplexed the likes of Aristotle 2,300 years ago and Nikola Tesla a century ago appears in ACS' The Journal of Physical Chemistry A.https://phys.org/news/2013-08-insights-one-in-a-million-lightning-ball.html
General Physics Wed, 07 Aug 2013 11:11:02 ESTnews295092645Large Area Picosecond Photodetectors push timing envelopeThe Large Area Picosecond Photodetector (LAPPD) collaboration has developed big detectors that push the timing envelope, measuring the speed of particles with a precision down to trillionths of a second.https://phys.org/news/2013-08-large-area-picosecond-photodetectors-envelope.html
General Physics Tue, 06 Aug 2013 12:00:09 ESTnews295009199Bright future beckons for metrology researcherA BRIGHT future beckons for a University of Huddersfield metrology instrumentation designer who has recently completed his doctorate, won a national award and will now embark on a project to bring a patented product to the market.https://phys.org/news/2013-07-bright-future-beckons-metrology.html
Engineering Wed, 10 Jul 2013 07:04:58 ESTnews292658687When benzene's bonds break: Hydrogen release depends on bond scission, not absorption(Phys.org) —In adding steam to benzene, C6H6, to generate hydrogen, the step that determines the reaction's speed is not the benzene's absorption onto the catalyst, but rather the first benzene bond that breaks, according to scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The team further explored increasing the speed of the hydrogen-producing reaction by evaluating rhodium and iridium catalysts on a magnesium aluminum spinel support. Through experimental and computational studies, they found that small rhodium particles had a higher turnover efficiency than either larger rhodium particles or iridium. This research graced the cover of ACS Catalysis.https://phys.org/news/2013-06-benzene-bonds-hydrogen-bond-scission.html
Materials Science Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:20:02 ESTnews290847991